Speed awareness courses

I'll just add the the guy running my course was pretty damn good, and put his foot down (edit: pun unintended) at the start saying this isn't the place to get cocky, take it on the chin or you'll be removed and have to take the fine.

i did one yesterday, i was really dissappointed, the 2nd 2 hours were ok, but it was really basic stuff they covered. I was hoping for something more/better.
But that said some of the people on the course came out with some shockers, and at least two of the OAP's clearly couldn't see the any of the presentations. Plus one was stone deaf doesn't stop him driving but not a lot of use on the course.
The 1st half was utter crap, ex copper with a bad attitude. the longest 2 hours of my life.
some gems
a blue round sign means cyclists MUST (shouted) use the cycle lane.
A car with locked-skidding front wheels will stop better than one with ABS as ABS takes longer to stop!
And the old chesnnut 2 car travelling at 50mph having a head on is a 100mph collison...........OFFS.

the last 10 years i've been averaging 23-25k a year and had no points, knowing what i know now i might just take the points next time.
Oh it was in the west mercia area - might be better in other areas.

Closing speed is 100mph, but you would still only be decelerating from 50mph.

Ahh - so you'd be thrown forward with (roughly) the same force as 50mph into a brick wall, I see.

Presumably it is still worse though, as you'll have bits of the other car coming through your windscreen at 50mph and your crumple zones would be subject to far greater forces as they'd be getting hit from "both sides" (being squashed by your vehicle's momentum while also being squashed by the oncoming vehicle).

Presumably it is still worse though, as you'll have bits of the other car coming through your windscreen at 50mph and your crumple zones would be subject to far greater forces as they'd be getting hit from "both sides" (being squashed by your vehicle's momentum while also being squashed by the oncoming vehicle).

Not really. Imagine the crumple zone absorbs energy in proportion to the deformation 1cm of deformation = 1kJ of energy (made up figures, but right ballpark)

If 2 cars hit each other at 50mph each thats then that twice (242kJ) the energy and twice the derformation, but that's over 2 bonnets, so actualy it's the same.

If 1 car is replaced by a truck weighing an infiite ammount then the change in velocity is negligable (i.e the truck just keeps going), then the change in speed is 100mph, but it's not 1/2* mass * change in velocity squared, it's just velocity. So in that case the energy transfered is doubled as the car decelerates to zero, then is re accelerated to 50mph backwards, 2.42m of car is crushed and the ocupant is very very dead.

What'll really mess with your head is the earth is spinning at ~1200miles an hour, and moving round the sun as millions of miles an hour, so relatively, both objects have experienced a very small change in velocity! What I don't quite understand is in that case going from 1250mph to 1200mph should have a different result than 1150mpg to 1200mph, i.e. driving east a crash should hurt a lot more than driving west.